Capital Equipment

In accordance with the University’s Capital Equipment Policy, all capital equipment is purchased by the Purchasing Department in compliance with standard purchasing policies and procedures. For equipment purchased from sponsored research funds, the Purchasing Department works in conjunction with the Department Administrator and if necessary, the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure compliance with sponsor policies.

Some sponsors require prior approval before a capital equipment item can be purchased. In addition, prior approval is required if the purchase represents a change of scope for the project and/or results in significant rebudgeting threshold of 25% or more of the current awarded increment. Sponsor approval requests must be coordinated between the PI, Department, and ORPA.

Equipment Purchases on a Sponsored Research Project within 90 days of award expiration are normally not allowable unless a justification is given by the PI, such as the following exceptional instances:

the purchase is necessary to complete the research

the PI is expecting the project to be extended. If an extension is possible, the department must specify in writing a non-sponsored chartstring that would be used for the cost in the event the funding does not materialize. The department manager and chair must approve this “willingness to assume the financial risk”.